Women march in Pakistan to make their voices heard, seek justice

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Updated 08 March 2022
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Women march in Pakistan to make their voices heard, seek justice

  • Aurat March has been attended by tens of thousands since March 2018 to mark International Women’s Day on March 8 
  • While opponents say the event has spread “vulgarity” and is anti-Islam, organizers say they are highlighting “real issues”

ISLAMABAD: Women from all walks of life gathered in Islamabad and other major cities in Pakistan on Tuesday for the country’s largest women’s rights event, the Aurat March. 
Aurat March, using the Urdu word for women, has been attended by tens of thousands since March 2018 to mark International Women’s Day on March 8. 
In the past, the march has been threatened by the Pakistani Taliban and there has been an uproar in conservative circles over slogans used at past events, including “My body, my choice”, “My body is not your battleground” and “Stop being menstrual phobic”. 




A protestor holds “My body, my choice” placard at Aurat March to mark the International Womens Day in Multan, Pakistan, on March 8, 2022. (Aurat March Organizers)

While opponents say the event has an agenda to spread “vulgarity” and is anti-Islam, organizers say they try to highlight “real issues” faced by women such as violence and sexual exploitation, and have faced a backlash, including murder and rape threats. 
This year too, the president of a major religious party, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), voiced opposition to Aurat March at a public gathering and threatened to stop the event with a “baton.” 
“Some religious parties threatened to attack us, organizing this march this year was not less than a war,” march organizer and prominent human rights activist Farzana Bari told Arab News at the march. “If we cannot gather and express ourselves even on women’s day then when it will be possible?” 
“It’s been 40 years I have been marching in the streets and I will not change it for anyone,” veteran rights activist Tahira Abdullah said. “We still came out to march. We are still demanding the exercise of our right of freedom of speech, assembly, and association.” 
Various city chapters of Aurat March have their own manifestos. The Karachi chapter this year focused on wages, security and peace, Lahore on reimagining justice, Multan on the education system and Islamabad on justice, security and freedom. 




People participate in "Aurat March" to mark International Women's Day in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 8, 2022. (AN Photo)

At the Aurat March venue in Islamabad, a counter-demonstration was held by the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan religious party, led largely by veiled women who said they also wanted equal pay, flexible work hours and free childcare but all rights had to comply with Islamic injunctions. 
“Jamaat-e-Islami is holding this rally to demand the rights provided by Islam to women as Pakistan is an Islamic country,” Ayesha Syed, an organizer of the counter-march, told Arab News. 
“Pakistani women are going through a lot of problems as they have been denied their right to education, they have health problems, forced marriages, and are denied due share in inheritance,” she added, “so we are here to demand all these rights, which the constitution of Pakistan has also granted us.” 




Women hold placards as they march during a rally to mark International Women's Day in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 8, 2022. (AFP)

In Karachi, the largest Pakistani metropolis, the march’s venue was changed from traditional Frere Hall to Jinnah Park, which resulted in lower number of participants but the gathering had representation from all segments of the society, from working women to fisherfolk, families of missing persons to anti-polio workers and religious minorities. 
The participants said the movement had gained momentum over the years and helped raise awareness regarding the rights of women in Pakistan. 




A protestor holds a placard supporting Baloch women at Aurat March to mark the International Womens Day in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 8, 2022. (AN Photo)

Munawar Aslam, a working women from Landhi, said she participated in the march because her rights were usurped by demolishing her house in a recent anti-encroachment drive. 
“These are the women who are mostly impacted by the government’s actions but no one really cares about them. This march is for everyone,” she told Arab News, hoping the platform would help her get her rights. 
Rubina Bux, a fisherwoman from Korangi, said the march had provided an opportunity to raise voice for the rights of her underprivileged class. 
“This is a brilliant platform for the rights of women. It’s said that this march is the brainchild of the elite, which is totally wrong,” Bux said. “We don’t live in isolation, so when this march demands rights, we demand rights for all, including our men, who are poorly paid and have no jobs and life security.” 




People participate in "Aurat March" to mark International Women's Day in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 8, 2022. (AN Photo)

Fashion designer Frieha Altaf said the march had already brought about a “change.” 
“If we look at the women, you will find women in jeans and women in hijab and they have got together because their rights are the same,” Altaf told Arab News. 
“Why are these women here? Because they all face stereotypes, they all face harassment. Knowing and fighting for rights is very important.” 




Fashion designer Frieha Altaf (left) and her daughter participate in "Aurat March" to mark International Women's Day in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 8, 2022. (Social media)

In Lahore, the second largest city of Pakistan, the organizers said the march was a “huge success” as it attracted large crowds of women and transgender persons. 
Feminist tappay, a form of Indian semi-classical vocal music, and a play on the murders of transgender persons were the highlights from the march in Lahore. 
The organizers also came up with the idea of reminding v-loggers and a few journalists of their “sensationalized, misrepresented” coverage, which they said “harassed” the participants last year. 
“We have made cutouts of the YouTubers. The slogans in cutouts were taken out from their videos which we thought were spreading wrong news and where participants were harassed last year,” Hiba, an organizer, said. “We wanted to show them the face of their misreporting and harassment.” 
The participants marched from the Lahore Press Club till the PIA office. 
In Multan, the march, which began from Nawan Shehar Chowk Multan and ended at the Multan Press Club, was attended by several women, including rights activists Mukhtar Mai, Saleema Hashmi and Hina Jilani. 
Laiba, an organizer of the march, told Arab News women in southern Punjab had the same issues, which they faced elsewhere in the country. 
“In addition, women here also lag behind in the field of the education, which is why we thought education should be this year’s theme,” she said. “One cannot prosper without education.” 

 


Pakistan wants to expel all Afghan refugees from the country, says Afghan embassy

Updated 19 February 2025
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Pakistan wants to expel all Afghan refugees from the country, says Afghan embassy

  • The embassy says Afghan nationals in Rawalpindi and Islamabad are facing arrests and police searches
  • Many are waiting to be resettled in a third country, with Pakistan warning they can’t stay permanently

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan wants to remove all Afghan refugees from the country and they face expulsion in the near future, the Afghan embassy in Islamabad warned Wednesday.
The embassy issued a strongly worded statement about Pakistan’s plans, saying Afghan nationals in the capital, Islamabad, and the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi have been subjected to arrests, searches, and orders from the police to leave the twin cities and relocate to other parts of Pakistan.
“This process of detaining Afghans, which began without any formal announcement, has not been officially communicated to the Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad through any formal correspondence,” it said.
“Ultimately, officials from Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that there is a definitive and final plan to deport all Afghan refugees not only from Islamabad and Rawalpindi but also from the entire country in the near future,” the embassy said.
There was no immediate comment from the Pakistani government on the Afghan statement.
The latest development comes more than two weeks after Pakistan’s government threatened to deport Afghan nationals living in the country illegally.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had approved a deadline of March 31 to deport those awaiting relocation to third countries unless their cases are swiftly processed by the governments who have agreed to take them after the Afghan Taliban seized power in 2021.
The Afghan embassy criticized “the short timeframe” given and “the unilateral nature of Pakistan’s decision.”
Besides hundreds of thousands of those living illegally in Pakistan, there are around 1.45 million Afghan nationals registered with UNHCR as refugees. Pakistani authorities say those who were registered earlier had their stay extended until June 2025, and will not be arrested or deported at least until the extension expires.
Earlier this month, Shafqat Ali Khan, the spokesman at Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had said: “This resettlement problem can’t be indefinite. So, for us, the Afghans who are here, awaiting resettlement also has to be a transitory phase. This is not a permanent thing.”
He said Pakistan has been collaborating with Western countries to expedite the resettlement program and “will continue to do that.”
In the past three years, tens of thousands of Afghans have fled to Pakistan. Many of them were approved for resettlement in the US through a program that helps people at risk because of their work with the American government, media, aid agencies and rights groups. However, after US President Donald Trump paused US refugee programs last month, around 20,000 Afghans are now in limbo in Pakistan.
These Afghans have been facing harassment and even arrest since October 2023, when Pakistan began cracking down on foreigners living in the country illegally.
Although the government said the campaign was not aimed at Afghans, they make up the majority of foreigners in Pakistan. Since then, more than 800,000 Afghan nationals have been deported or forced to leave the country under a so-called voluntary repatriation plan.
The International Organization for Migration has also reported an increase in deportation of Afghans in January.
IOM this week in a report said, “Afghan nationals are being deported to Afghanistan from Islamabad and Rawalpindi.” It said there is an increase of 13 percent in those Afghans returning home from Jan. 16 to 31 compared to the first two weeks in January. It said 824,568 Afghans have returned home since 2023.
Ahmad Shah, a member of an Afghan advocacy group, urged Pakistan on Wednesday to allow Afghans waiting for relocation to continue living in Islamabad at least until the Trump administration makes a final decision about their fate.
He said it would be hard for them to visit Western embassies in the Pakistani capital if they are moved to other areas.


Pakistan’s army chief arrives in UK to attend military forum, hold talks with senior leadership

Updated 19 February 2025
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Pakistan’s army chief arrives in UK to attend military forum, hold talks with senior leadership

  • General Asim Munir address a conference on Pakistan’s future outlook amid the emerging world order
  • He will also meet British civil and military leadership to discuss strengthening of ties between both states
ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir has reached the United Kingdom to attend a platform for military-to-military dialogue between the two countries and hold talks with the British civil and military leadership, an official statement announced on Wednesday. The 7th Regional Stabilization Conference is an annual event held at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK. It facilitates bilateral collaboration and understanding by bringing together civil and military policymakers, as well as think tank members from both countries, according to the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). The 2025 conference is significant due to the rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape, offering an invaluable opportunity to exchange perspectives and explore pathways for enhanced bilateral cooperation, it added. “Chief of Army Staff General Munir is on an official visit to the United Kingdom to participate in the 7th Regional Stabilization Conference at the esteemed Royal Military Academy Sandhurst where he will deliver the keynote address on ‘The Emerging World Order and Pakistan’s Future Outlook,’” the ISPR said. “On the inaugural day of his visit, General Munir was accorded a warm and dignified welcome including a ceremonial Guard of Honour at the historic Royal Horse Guards Parade Ground presented by an impeccably turned-out contingent.” The ISPR added the Pakistani army chief would meet UK Chief of Defense Staff Admiral Toney Radikon, British Army Chief of General Staff General Sir Roland Walker and UK National Security Adviser Jonathan Nicholas Powell to discuss matters of mutual interest. He will also engage in discussions with UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to address shared challenges apart from underscoring the importance of fostering deeper collaboration between both countries. The ISPR said General Munir will visit prominent British Army units including the Land Warfare Center and the 1st Strike Brigade where he will be briefed about the “modernization initiatives and operational strategies.” “The visit highlights the enduring partnership between the two nations, reaffirming their shared commitment to regional stability and global peace,” the statement said. Pakistan and the UK have witnessed high-level visits between their military leaders, in an effort to strengthen defense ties and collaboration. Last August, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza met with top British military officials to discuss bilateral defense and security cooperation. The two countries share a long-standing relationship built on strong diplomatic, economic and security ties. Over the years, both militaries have maintained robust cooperation, particularly in the fields of counterterrorism and professional training. Their existing defense partnership includes Pakistani officers undergoing training at Sandhurst and the Royal College of Defense Studies.

PM Sharif urges Bahrain to increase trade volume with Pakistan

Updated 19 February 2025
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PM Sharif urges Bahrain to increase trade volume with Pakistan

  • The prime minister meets 11-member Bahraini parliamentary delegation
  • Trade between both countries has ranged between $500 million to $1 billion

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited Bahraini nationals to invest in Pakistan, his office said on Wednesday, urging increased trade between the two countries as Islamabad aims to strengthen economic ties and attract foreign investors, particularly in the Gulf region.
After narrowly avoiding a sovereign default in 2023 and securing a last-minute International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout, Pakistan is strengthening business and investment ties with regional allies, including China and Central Asian states, to overcome the impact of a prolonged macroeconomic crisis.
Sharif met with an 11-member Bahraini parliamentary delegation, led by Bahrain’s Council of Representatives Speaker Ahmed bin Salman Al-Musalam, to discuss ties between the two countries.
“The prime minister invited Bahraini investors to invest in Pakistan,” the PM Office said in a statement. “The PM urged efforts to increase the current trade volume between Pakistan and Bahrain.”
According to the foreign office, Pakistan’s trade with Bahrain ranges between $500 million and $1 billion. Major exports include meat, vegetables, rice, tobacco and textiles. Imports from Bahrain include petroleum and its products, ferrous waste, scrap and aluminum.
Sharif called for strengthening people-to-people connections to further enhance ties between both countries, the statement continued, adding he also highlighted the “valuable services” provided by Pakistani nationals in Bahrain.
He urged Bahrain and other Muslim states to increase their support for the residents of Gaza, apart from extending his wishes to Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa.
Earlier this month, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Pakistan saw huge potential in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) market, comprising Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.
Pakistan has intensified its outreach to international partners and allies in recent months as it navigates a fragile economic recovery, backed by a $7 billion IMF facility granted last September.


Pakistan, Saudi forces conclude naval drills with display of firepower and combat tactics

Updated 19 February 2025
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Pakistan, Saudi forces conclude naval drills with display of firepower and combat tactics

  • The two countries maintain close defense ties, with their navies regularly participating in joint drills
  • Affaa Al Sahil follows Naseem Al Bahr-XV and Aman 2025 exercises to enhance maritime coordination

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia concluded their annual Affaa Al Sahil naval exercise in Karachi on Wednesday with a demonstration of intense firepower, close quarter combat and hostage rescue, according to a statement by Pakistan’s military media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The exercise, which has been conducted annually since 2011 between the Pakistan Navy’s Special Service Group and the Royal Saudi Naval Forces’ Special Operations Forces, focused on enhancing interoperability and tactical coordination.
It follows Naseem Al Bahr-XV, another bilateral naval exercise between the two countries, and Aman 2025, a multinational maritime drill aimed at promoting regional maritime cooperation.
“The joint naval exercise Affaa Al Sahil between the Pakistan Navy and the Royal Saudi Naval Forces’ Special Operations Forces concluded in Karachi,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“The training drills included RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] firing, machine gun firing, close quarters combat, practical rappelling, hostage rescue, visit board search and seizure, explosive ordnance disposal drills, mission planning and advanced area clearance techniques,” it added.
The closing ceremony of the exercise was attended by Commander Coast Rear Admiral Faisal Amin along with senior officials from both navies.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia maintain close defense ties, with their navies regularly participating in joint drills to improve maritime security and counter asymmetric threats in the region.
“This joint exercise will help strengthen mutual capabilities and coordination in countering maritime security challenges,” the ISPR added.


Pakistan’s deputy PM seeks UN support to curb ‘cross-border terrorism’ from Afghanistan

Updated 19 February 2025
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Pakistan’s deputy PM seeks UN support to curb ‘cross-border terrorism’ from Afghanistan

  • Ishaq Dar meets Secretary-General António Guterres, says Pakistan will support the destitute in Afghanistan
  • Th deputy PM stresses OIC’s role in addressing issues facing the Muslim world in meeting with Saudi minister

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who also holds the foreign affairs portfolio, on Wednesday sought the United Nations’ support to curb “cross-border terrorism” from Afghanistan during a meeting with Secretary-General António Guterres, according to an official statement.
Dar traveled to New York this week to address a Security Council debate on multilateralism and global governance convened by China. A day earlier, he called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to people affected by Israel’s war.
He also mentioned a surge in militancy in its two western provinces of his country bordering Afghanistan since a fragile truce between the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamabad broke down in November 2022.
The government has frequently blamed the spike in militant activities on Afghanistan, accusing it of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement and insist that Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter for Islamabad.
“The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister highlighted cross-border terrorism from Afghanistan and called for the UN’s support in countering terrorism within and from Afghanistan,” the foreign office said in a statement released after Dar’s interaction with Guterres.
“He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire to provide humanitarian support to the millions of destitute people in Afghanistan and to promote its economic development, including through implementing connectivity projects between Central Asia and Pakistan through Afghanistan,” it added.
During his conversation with the UN chief, the deputy prime minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for the UN’s central role in addressing global challenges, including peace and security, development and climate change.
Dar highlighted Pakistan’s commitment to multilateralism and UN peacekeeping efforts, saying Islamabad remained dedicated to promoting international peace and security as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.
He also welcomed the UN chief’s Summit of the Future initiative, designed to strengthen global governance and improve multilateral cooperation, expressing hope it would help address financing gaps for developing countries to achieve Sustainable Development Goals and climate targets.
Guterres thanked Pakistan for its contributions to UN peacekeeping and its active engagement in multilateral forums, according to the statement.
TALKS WITH SAUDI MINISTER
Later, the deputy prime minister met with Saudi Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Eng. Waleed Abdul Karim El-Khereiji, according to a separate statement by the foreign office.
Dar praised the long-standing ties between the two countries and reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to strengthening economic and security cooperation with the Kingdom.
“Recognizing the deep-rooted strategic and economic ties between the two countries, the two leaders reiterated their resolve to expand economic cooperation and explore avenues for broad-based collaboration in trade, investment, and commercial sectors, emphasizing the vast investment opportunities available in Pakistan,” the statement said.
The two leaders also discussed the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, calling for the full implementation of the ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian assistance to Gaza and an early start to reconstruction efforts leading to a two-state solution.
They further underscored the critical role of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in addressing issues concerning the Muslim world.
The meeting reaffirmed the shared commitment of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to strengthening their strategic partnership for mutual prosperity and regional stability.